


how life has death for neighbour

by VolunteerFieryDantooinian



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gustav Lives, Angst, Cuddling, Drowning, F/M, Gustav just doesn't have to die, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, everything still ends up how it does in canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-10 21:34:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11700321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolunteerFieryDantooinian/pseuds/VolunteerFieryDantooinian
Summary: In which Jacquelyn comes to the rescue.





	how life has death for neighbour

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Algernon Charles Swinburne's "The Garden of Proserpine"

The second that the words "The world is quiet here" left Gustav's lips, Jacquelyn Scieszka knew for a fact that something was wrong. The crackling, bubbling sound over the radio wasn't good either, and that was why she was running already, running to the ladder that led to M's home. It seemed like it took forever, far too long, and she was taking the rungs three at a time when she got there. She almost fell, but soon pushed up through the trapdoor and found herself in the Reptile Room.

"Jacquelyn, it's good to see you! What-" Monty exclaimed conversationally, but she cut him off. He was well-meaning, but she had to hurry. 

"Have you seen Gustav?" She asked frantically, and he frowned.

"Last I heard he was outside. Is something wrong?" He inquired.

"I hope not." She said, and ran through the house, nearly tripping on the carpet and then fumbling with the doorknob as quickly as she could. She ran outside and quickly scanned the yard.  _Bubbling,_ she thought, and mentally cursed as she ran over to the pond as quickly as she could. It was very shallow, and she cursed aloud as she stuck her hands in.

Wow, that was cold. She felt something, and it felt like fabric, like his jacket, and she determined that that was his arm. Quickly, she grabbed his shoulders and dragged him out onto the grass. 

Her heart dropped. His lips were tinged blue and he wasn't moving. Or breathing, for that matter. "Why do you have to make this so difficult?" She grumbled, and started chest compressions with a vengeance. Pushing down as hard as she could, she counted to 30 and then gave 2 fast, deep breaths. Jacquelyn kept going and kept going, but it didn't seem to be doing much. He had a very weak pulse, but he still wasn't breathing. She pressed her lips to his, tilting his head back as she gave as much air as she possibly could. 

Jacquelyn was on the verge of giving up when Gustav started to choke, practically convulsing as water slid down his face, and she pushed him onto his side, as you do for near-drowning victims. "Thank goodness." She breathed a sigh of relief and gently put her hand on his arm as he coughed, shivering in her grip. Even though vomiting water onto the grass was likely intensely unpleasant, it was probably a good thing, since it meant he was alive. Gustav was alive, she thought, and smiled a little in spite of herself.

He gasped for breath as he coughed up water forcefully enough for him to gag multiple times. He was utterly freezing, and she knew he had to get warm, or he could still die. "Come on. We have to get you warmed up," She urged, and he nodded slightly.

She helped him sit up, then pulled him to his feet, half dragging him, half carrying him back to the house as he breathed heavily. She pulled open the door and dragged him to the bedroom he'd been staying in. "Monty!" She called. "I need you to get me a towel and some blankets  _now,_ it's urgent." Her voice was shaking as she helped Gustav out of his soaked jacket, hanging it up. Within minutes, Monty came running with exactly what she'd asked for. Thank goodness for reliable friends. "Thank you." She stuttered, and he had a grave look on his face as he nodded. 

Carefully, and mindful of personal space, she dried off his hair, keeping the towel wrapped around him when she was finished. 

"Jacquelyn." Gustav choked out, and she gave him a soft look. 

"What is it, what's-" He hugged her before she could finish, not super hard, but just gently. She could feel him shivering intensely as she returned the embrace, burying her face in his shoulder. Eventually, though, they broke apart. That part could come later. He did need to warm up, after all. He had a faraway, dazed look on his face, eyes half glazed over.

"You're freezing," She said softly, and started rubbing his hands as gently as possible, trying to get a little bit of warmth back into them. "You need to get out of those wet clothes," Jacquelyn informed him. "May I?"  She wanted to make sure he was ok with her undressing him, even though it was for medical reasons. He nodded.

As gently and as carefully as she could, she stripped off his soaking wet outer clothes, but left his boxers on, because the water barely got to those and she didn't want to cross any boundaries there. She pulled a blanket around his shoulders and kicked off her shoes and disgustingly wet socks. Jacquelyn pulled the blankets around him and wrapped another that Monty had brought around Gustav for good measure. If he got pneumonia, that could get very bad very quickly.

"T-t-thank you," He stumbled over his words, teeth chattering intensely. The water had really done a number on him, she thought, worry drifting through her mind. And he may have been drugged. He certainly seemed distant and exhausted. She remembered the steps for treating hypothermia. 

"I'll be right back, ok? I'm going to make some tea." She explained, and he nodded, curling up a little bit. As she walked out, she frowned a little. Leaving him alone wasn't what she wanted to do, but he could barely walk. 

Jacquelyn put the kettle on, rummaging through the cabinets until she found something that wasn't some obscure coffee variety or tea she didn't recognize. Lemon would work just fine, and the whistle of hot water brought her back to the present. She poured the water into a mug and added the tea bag and let it steep, stirring in some honey for good measure. After letting it cool to a drinkable temperature, she walked back to Gustav's room. He was dozing off, not completely asleep, but his eyes were halfway shut.

"Gustav, baby, you need to drink this, ok? It'll warm you up." She said gently, and he startled awake. With shaking hands, he took the mug from her, and for a second she thought he was going to drop it. But he managed to hold it steady enough to take a sip, and he sighed quietly. She helped him drink, and while he was still freezing cold, he wasn't shivering quite so hard. His lips were no longer blue, and he was still very pale, but he didn't look dead.

When he'd drunk enough of it for her to feel like it had actually helped, and he seemed exhausted, she set the mug down on the bedside table and climbed into bed next to him.

"Come here. You're going to catch pneumonia if we don't get your temperature back up. Weakened immune system and all of that," she explained, remembering that skin-on-skin contact was best for warming up a hypothermic person. As carefully as possible, she pulled him against her, nearly recoiling of how freezing his skin was. He made a quiet gasping sound, then pressed as close against her as he could. 

She ran her hands along his sides and shoulders, trying to warm him up, then just settled for holding him as he pressed his face into her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. Tangling their legs together, Jacquelyn kept him as close to her as possible. Hypothermia was no laughing matter, even though this method of treating it was.. Wonderful? 

He started to snore very, very softly, and she almost laughed when she realized he had already fallen asleep. The poor man had to be exhausted. Gently, she pressed her lips to his temple and began stroking his hair, hoping that would also help.

Slowly, she began to fall asleep too, with all current danger thwarted and Gustav in her arms. This was nice, she thought. Even though he had hypothermia, this kind of physical intimacy was nice. 

As Jacquelyn fell asleep, the world really was quiet there.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> WOW this was short but hey, I really wanted to write a Gustav Lives fic.  
> ..... If you want me to write the pneumonia thing, let me know in the comments. Just comment in general. Please.


End file.
